An A.I. rapper has been dropped by Capitol Music Group after public backlash.
FN Meka, was an artist created from artificial intelligence and is based on recent popular hip-hop songs and looks. The virtual artist has face tattoos, green braids and a nose ring. In his songs, he uses the n-word, and on his Instagram, he made a post about police brutality, with a photo of a White officer on top of him about to hit him with a baton.
“I ain’t no rat,” FN Meka’s Instagram caption read. “Life in prison is so depressing … I wish I could get out so I could start making … music again.”
An AI rapper that says the n-word fabricating police brutality… literally every single thing about this is so off-key pic.twitter.com/9bC7odudlZ
— mitch (@limitedmitch) August 23, 2022
The artist released a single “Florida Water,” which featured Gunna and gaming streamer Clix.
“F— Capitol Records and the White people who thought this was a marketable idea,” rapper Chika tweeted.
Producer Chase N. Cashe also added his thoughts.
“Them white people at Capitol Records knew what they was doing and the n—- over there don’t got enough pull to stop it,” he tweeted before adding laughing emojis.
Before the artist was dropped, activist group Industry Blackout expressed disgust at the signing of the A.I. artist.
“While we applaud innovation in tech that connects listeners to music and enhances the experience, we find fault in the lack of awareness in how offensive this caricature is,” the statement read. “It is a direct insult to the Black community and our culture … for example, Gunna, a Black artist who is featured on a song with FN Meka, is currently incarcerated for rapping the same type of lyrics this robot mimics. The difference is, your artificial rapper will not be subject to federal charges for such.”
Have you lost your FN minds? @capitolrecords @capitolmusic pic.twitter.com/TxbqDhJmv0
— Industry Blackout #IndustryBlackout (@industryblkout) August 23, 2022
Capitol released a statement after dropping FN Meka.
“We offer our deepest apologies to the Black community for our insensitivity in signing this project without asking enough questions about equity and the creative process behind it,” the label’s statement read, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “We thank those who have reached out to us with constructive feedback in the past couple of days — your input was invaluable as we came to the decision to end our association with the project.”
@fnmekaGot a new ice machine to help keep my wrist on FROZE 🥶♬ Florida Water – FN Meka & Gunna & Clix
